Really need help with ground floor refurb design (floorplan attached)

[Sideextension]

Hello,

Single mum struggling with planning a ground floor refurb since have no one to bounce off ideas. Current floorplan attached. The house has 3 bedrooms on the first floor (used by me + my two children), 1 small bedroom in the loft (not used). I need to design a space on the ground floor for a visiting elderly parent to sleep around 3 months a year and other occasional guests. Parent increasingly struggles with stairs, installing a lift isnt an option. I also want to split the very long living room into 2 with a dividing wall, partly opened the kitchen and living room wall as shown in image, and also relax the stairs a little (unrelated refurb).

Option 1: A small side extension (left of house in image, building out to the wall, covering side access to the garden, and taking some space from the entrance hall if needed) to get a small bedroom + expanding the WC to include a shower (not en suite). However, my budget is tight for this, and space is insufficient for a good sized bedroom. I would lose side access to the garden (through current utility) and it might end up being too much house for the footprint.

Option 2: I wonder if I should just divide the living room as planned (red line), use a good vertical wall/ Murphy bed in the front room (bay windows) to give this front room dual purpose as a library and guest room. I don't want a permanent bedroom there since wont always be used as of now. I could extend to the side to add a shower to the WC, perhaps add a small walk-in pantry / storage (off the entrance hall). The large entrance hallway can be smaller if space needs to be repurposed. Option 2 should cost less than 1, and I could then use any budget left over to decorate.

Having the side access to the garden, albeit via utility, is handy, and the garden is already small, so i dont want to encroach on it. I am not a fan of open plan, but I do want to open up some access between the kitchen and the living room.

Questions -
What would you do - Options 1 vs 2?
How should i think about the flow of traffic between rooms?
How should i think about designing the front room, in case of Option 2?

Thank you!

Option 2 seems good

Option 2

You could put folding doors between the living room and other bit if you still want the option to have a big open plan space but it would make that room less sound proofed.

I'd lean towards option 2 as well. It feels like a better use of the space for something that's only needed a few months a year, and I'd hate to lose the side access and spend more money on a tiny bedroom. You could always play around with layouts in something like Interiorbox 3d or Sketchup first, it's really helpful to visualise how the room will work day to day. A nice Murphy bed and plenty of built-in storage could make the front room feel like a proper library most of the time but still be comfortable for your parent when they're staying.

Hi Op, I would look at a nice Sofa bed, there are some good quality ones now that are super comfy as both a sofa and a bed. So the room can still feel lovely and double up as a bedroom. I do think dividing where you have the red line is sensible and makes both rooms nicer to use and with distinct purpose.

I wouldn't do the extension, that's going to cost so much for little return.
I had two thoughts, one would be if it was possible to turn the staircase so it comes off the kitchen door up a few steps then turns right so you can use the space currently at the bottom of the stairs (into what would be under the stairs) as a shower?

Alternatively my very rough plan below. where you increase the utility to incorporate a shower and pantry and have a decent functional space, and open the kitchen out from the other wall. I think that will help the room feel less long and thin and feel a more sociable and friendly space. Then the current downstairs loo can be turned into storage.

I have a very similar downstairs layout but the wall is still in place between the front room with bay window and the back part of the house. My 11 year old moved into the front room about 6 months ago and it’s working out really well. He has a sofa bed but frankly it doesn’t matter - like you we have a reception room at the back so we just weren’t really using the front room to sit in. We have 3 bedrooms upstairs but one is very small, and it made more sense for us to give him the bigger room and use the box room as a study. So in your shoes I would go for option 2, and try to work out where to put a shower.

Alternatively, what about a stairlift if the stairs are the issue?

Thanks to all your helpful input, @Geneticsbunny @TooExtraImmatureCheddar @GoldenishFish @parietal @Tortephant
Yes, it seems there isnt much to be gained by putting in a small side room.

I wouldnt put sliding doors- while I do entertain several times a year, I do feel i can purpose the space better as 2 separate rooms. I would also avoid a stair lift- they dont look great and are too permanent.

@Tortephant, I would like the shower and the WC need to be in a single space and also be accessible from the entrance hallway rather than people going through the kitchen. I do want to maintain access to the garden even if via utility since I have gardeners in occasionally. I cant visualise your suggestion on the stairs just yet. Currently, if you enter from the main door, the stairs start on the right side (adjacent to the side access) after the WC and go up, take a 90 degree turn left to reach the first floor. I would like to relax them, but need to figure how.

How should I create access between the kitchen and the living room? I am not sure if a sliding door vs total gap would be best. at present, i dont have enough space in the kitchen for an island (which isnt a deal breaker). I dont want to lose a lot of space in the intervening wall, since will need to then relocate the cabinets elsewhere. there is a table near the kitchen bay window where we usually have meals and only use the main dining area infrequently- perhaps i should do away with the kitchen table and use the dining area?

Any thoughts on the kitchen and living room design, please?

I would definitely put up a wall to divide off the front lounge, but I'd use a sofa bed, simply because I like to move my furniture around everyso often.

PP was right, if you turn the bottom of the stairs, then you could extend the loo to the end of the staircase and fit in a shower. If you've the room I'd be tempted to make the little shower room a little wider too and give up a bit of hallway space for it, make it feel a bit more generous. I've attached a pic of what I mean, ignore the brown box, I copied this from a site demonstrating how you install stairlifts in different staircases!

I wouldn't extend, but I probably would muck about with the layout of the rest of the house. I don't like the way you enter the kitchen, and for such a large space it feels a bit cramped. Can you afford a new kitchen if taking down walls?

Here we go, this is what I think I'd do. I'd move the french doors over the where the current kitchen window is and put a window where the french doors are. The cabinets next to the new french doors would be floor to ceiling, which would be your pantry cupboards and maybe a fridge freezer. I prefer an eye level oven too so I might have another tall unit hiding one of the structural pillars so I can have an eye level oven right by the worktop. I probably wouldn't bother with wall cabinets, I'd have shelves instead.
Big table in the bay where you have one currently, and room for sofas/chairs in the remaining space.
Turn the stairs, make the loo bigger and take it all the way to the end of the stairs, pop a shower in the created space.